Concert Katie

the same song over and over again

American Idol

Idol Thoughts

Katie 0 Comments

Last night the Idols sang songs from members of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame! Another pretty widespread topic so I figured they would all find songs suited for them. And for the most part, they did.

Somehow last week I was dead on with my bottom 3 and going home prediction so either I have found my groove, or it was just dumb luck!  I think the bottom 3 this week will be Paul, Stefano and Jacob. (Not sure about Jacob.)  I think it’ll be Paul going home.

Dial Idol seems to agree with my bottom, but they also list Lauren, Haley and Casey in danger of being in the bottom 3.  I could see Haley possibly being in the bottom because I am not sure that she has the fanbase, but I thought she did really well last night.  But I think it is time for a boy to go! 6 boys left and only 3 girls – but I think that is because girls are more inclined to vote for boys and boys are not inclined to vote.  I actually put in 1 phone vote last night for Stefano.  My first vote since we have gotten to the Top 13!

Jacob – Kind of funny that he got such positive feedback on his first choice of a song but completely changed his mind and went for one of the songs that made me fall in love with Kris Allen…  I think Jacob’s performance was safe. Not a knockout by any means but it should be enough to keep him around another week, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he is in the bottom after the comment he made about people not voting for him because they don’t want to look at themselves in the mirror.

Haley – Great song selection from her and a great performance.  This should help her hang around for another week.

Casey – Another great song choice and a solid performance from Casey.

Lauren – She seemed to start off a little ehh but then she seemed to find her way.  I just don’t believe she is as great as all the hype with her.  She is good though.

James – Slowed it down this week! Now if he would just shut down the screaming, maybe I’d like him!  Other than the screeching, the performance wasn’t too bad.

Scotty – Scotty finally got to do his Idol of Elvis! Good performance but what was with the girls running on stage? lol

Pia – up beat! finally! And she rocked it.  Her outfit on the other hand, I was not a fan of.

Stefano – I think he started off a bit shaky, but then did alright.  But I am not sure it was good enough to keep him out of the bottom 3.

Paul – I want to like Paul, but I don’t know. He performance was ok but I am not sure it was strong enough to keep him out of the bottom 3 and it might not have been strong enough to keep him hanging around another week either.

Book Review

Book Review: The Band that Played On by Steve Turner

Katie 0 Comments

Outside historians, the public is aware of the Titanic musicians thanks to two popular movies, Titanic, and A Night To Remember.  Both of these films make a point to show the musicians performing until the very end as they went down with the great ship.  Little has been knock about these musicians, and although volumes have been written about the Titanic, the band has not been the subject of any one book.
The Band That Played On: The extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down with the Titanic by Steve Turner, is the first book to focus solely on this little known-aspect of Titanic history.  Turner addresses the many questions left unexplored, including: Who were these men? What were their values and beliefs? What compelled them to come back on deck after retiring for the evening? As bandmaster, did Wallace Hartley play a vital role?

The story tells of the lives of Wallace Hartley, Roger Bricoux, William Theodore Brailey, John Wesley Woodward, John Law Hume, Georges Alexandre Krins, Percy Cornelius Taylor and John Frederick Preston Clark.

The first couple of chapters give a lot of background information and if you are not interested in the historical aspect of the book, it might be hard to get into. However, I urge you to continue because the stories of these 8 men are fascinating.

It also details what songs they played as the boat went down – from jazz to ragtime to hymns (based on the recollection of survivors) and Nearer, My God to Thee as the water was up to the band’s knees.  The final chapters tell a bit about what ended up with the families of the band members, which are also some interesting stories.

Also included in the book are photos mixed in to all the chapters.  There are photos of artifacts, photos of the men in the band and their homes.  I found these photos really helpful in picturing the times in which these men lived and they really added a lot to the reading experience.

The Publication of the book Marks the May 2011 Centenary of the Launch of the RMS Titanic in Belfast, Northern Ireland.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Thomas Nelson to post a review.  All the thoughts of the book are my own and I was not compensated to give the book a favorable review.

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